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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24760027">Sting</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rebel_Rose/pseuds/Rebel_Rose'>Rebel_Rose</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Batman - All Media Types, DCU</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Merpeople, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Minor Violence, One Shot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 06:27:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,415</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24760027</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rebel_Rose/pseuds/Rebel_Rose</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>A long-ago deal with the Demon’s Head is finally fulfilled.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Sting</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">


        <li>
            Inspired by

            <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/19183363">Gifts From the Sea</a> by <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Raberba_girl/pseuds/Raberba%20girl">Raberba girl (Raberba_girl)</a>.
        </li>

    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>All right, first things first. This idea is NOT mine. It belongs to Raberba girl, and full credit for this AU goes to her and no one else. I just used the characters and plot to write this little scene that swam into my head, with her permission. </p><p>Raberba girl mentioned in one of her author’s notes in Gifts From The Sea that she was putting Cassandra Cain in the epilogue, but that she wouldn’t get much screen time. Cassandra is my absolute favorite Batfam character (sorry, Tim, I still love you, especially as an octopus) so I decided, “Well, what if I gave Cass a bit more screen time?” </p><p>And then this happened. Honestly, it doesn’t focus as much on Cass as I thought it would. My jet lagged brain decided to make it from the POV of Ra’s al Ghul, God knows why. And Cass doesn’t actually say anything (although that isn’t too surprising.) But it’s still her story, I think.</p><p>I am writing this with Raberba girl’s permission, but the credit is hers! Please do not credit me for this AU- only the writing is mine. </p><p>This was really fun to write, and I absolutely loved playing around with the mermaid aspect of Cass! I made her half stingray, because of breezy_cheezy’s designs (sorry there’s no link, I’m a techno dummy and have no idea how to add a link). It worked really well for her, especially the sting aspect, which is where this short story gets its title from. While I couldn’t mention this in the fic, I based Cass’s stingray half on a particular type of eagle ray that just so happens to be called a bat ray. How could I resist that perfect coincidence?</p><p>One more thing: there’s one part at the end of the story where Ra’s al Ghul speaks in Arabic. I don’t speak Arabic, so I used Google Translate for that part. It kept changing the grammar on me, so I had to sort of piece the phrase together. Please let me know if it’s incorrect and how I can correct it!</p><p>Whale-sized thank you to Raberba girl for letting me write and post this!!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Leave us.”</p>
<p></p><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Ra’s al Ghul accompanied the words with a wave of his hand. The two guards bowed, acknowledging his order, and left the room, striding in perfect unison through the large wooden door and shutting it behind them.</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Ra’s leaned forward and studied the only other person left in the room. His guest was a tall man, his brown hair streaked with gray. His eyes, alert and unafraid, met Ra’s’ gaze with no defiance and no fear. There was something in his eyes, something that Ra’s had seen before, but he could not identify it in this man. It was an enigma, a puzzle. But that was all right. Ra’s liked people who were puzzles- it gave him something to solve, a way to know everything about the person without them even knowing what he knew. It made encounters more interesting.</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>This particular encounter was made even more interesting by the man’s hand. It was rough and scarred, as worn as a beast’s hide, littered with the ghostly marks of past wounds. </p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Ra’s, however, was not interested in what the man’s hand looked like, but rather the large, covered square the hand rested on. It was a possessive gesture, a subtle way to say “this is mine” that few besides Ra’s would have picked up on. He settled back in his carved wooden chair, a slight frown on his features, and addressed the man by name.</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“David Cain.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Ra’s al Ghul.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Ra’s, used to being addressed with honorifics such as “my lord” or “sir” or perhaps even “master,” felt his frown grow deeper at the man’s disrespect. “You look older,” he said, choosing to ignore the slight.</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You don’t,” said David Cain, not at all wisely. </p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Ra’s did not allow his full disapproval to show on his face. Cain did not act like a businessman, flattering and groveling his way into what he wanted. He was a shrewd man, but not a wise one. He knew how to get what he desired, but he did not know how to keep those who granted his wishes on his side. A little flattery would go far for him, but he was unwilling to lay down his pride even for that. </p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Today, though, Ra’s was willing to forgive his errors. He was willing to do anything for the treasure Cain had brought, the one so carefully concealed beneath a cloth. Cain had his hand on it, to be sure, but soon the prize beneath the veil would belong to Ra’s and Ra’s alone.</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>He straightened his back, making his regal posture even more regal, and gestured to the cloth. “Show me.” He did not bother with more unpleasant pleasantries, he did not even order Cain to dispense with the opening remarks. He simply said two words, and Cain obeyed him, removing the cloth from his treasure.</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Ra’s actually stood. He walked slowly over to the large glass tank and the puddle of cloth that had been covering it and stared into the crystal surface, nearly mesmerized. </p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>The tank was filled with water, and not too clean water, at that. But to Ra’s, it was perfect. It held his treasure, after all.</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>And the treasure inside surpassed even his high demands.</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>A form floated in the tank, making only the barest of movements. Half of the treasure was a girl, smaller than most, with short-cropped black hair floating about her face. She stared back at Ra’s, although the features of her face were somewhat distorted by the glass and the clouded water and he could not see her clearly.</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>The other half of the treasure was a stingray, dark on top and pale underneath, blending seamlessly into the girl’s skin. The fish and the child were one, and it was a beautiful union, the treasure Ra’s had been waiting eight years for. He drank in the sight of the near-black wings and the wicked, whip-like tail of the stingray mergirl.</p>
</div><div>
  <p>But it wasn’t enough. “I will view her more closely,” he announced. “Remove her from the tank.“</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“That won’t be necessary,” Cain replied easily. Ra’s almost called for the guards, before realizing that Cain had not been meaning to defy him. </p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>The man stepped to the edge of the tank, within the line of sight of the mer. He shot a quick glance at the mergirl, then lifted his head and looked directly into Ra’s eyes.</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>The young mer leapt from the tank gracefully, and with hardly a splash. She landed on the hard tile floor, the lower half of her body pressed against it and her top half raised up on two strong arms. The jump must have bruised her, must have injured the delicate wings that made up her stingray half, but she made no sound at all. </p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“What did I tell you?” Cain exclaimed delightedly. “She’s perfect. I’ve trained her personally, and to your exact specifications.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Were it any other encounter, Ra’s would make some icy comment about the water the mergirl was dripping onto his floor. But today, he did not care. He wanted to look at his prize, and he wanted to examine every inch of her. He had waited too long already.</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>He stepped over to the girl, crouching down and placing two fingers under her chin to raise her face so he could look into her eyes. He was instantly captivated. There was no fear in those eyes, but they were not fishlike, not at all. Her eyes held an intelligence, an understanding, perhaps even a shrewdness to rival her father Cain. But there was no emotion, absolutely no expression. It was as if she felt nothing, not even the pain from her hard meeting with the floor. He tested that, pinching the tender skin of her arm, and she did not react. Her eyes never changed. They were doll’s eyes, forever set with that strange intelligence, but never capable of showing emotion.</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Exactly the way he wanted it.</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>He brushed some of the dripping hair back from her face, carefully examining it. She allowed him- no, that was not it. She did not allow him, she did not even think of resisting. He could have slit her throat, and she would never have moved. She did not react to anything he did, not when he turned her head to inspect the little round ears at the sides, not when he opened her mouth and looked at her teeth, not when he pushed a finger into the gill slits on her neck.</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Take all the time you need,” Cain said, meaning, of course,<em> hurry up and pay me. </em>Ra’s ignored him, continuing his inspection of the creature. There were gill slits on both sides of her smooth chest as well as her neck, which was unusual. She would be powerful in water.</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“She can breathe adequately in oxygen?” he asked, running his hands down the slits on her chest.</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Of course,” Cain replied. “She can do anything you need her to do.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Ra’s continued his examination, a slight frown now creasing his features. He had discovered small, rough scars on the girl’s side, one dangerously close to tearing a gill slit. There were more, scattered over her arms, bruises and cuts and a few that looked like bullet wounds, all in various stages of healing.  “The child is scarred,” he said flatly. “Why?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Cain looked uncomfortable for just a flash before he replaced his disinterested mask. “Training,” he said with a hint of a shrug. “Necessary, I’m afraid.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Ra’s took the explanation and found the truth easily. No doubt some of the scars- the bullet wounds, most assuredly, and probably the cuts and some of the bruises- were from the extensive training he had stipulated for his treasure. But David Cain had always been known as a hard-handed man, and as Ra’s found red welts across the child’s back and wings, it was easy to sort out the lies. </p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Those wings- they were so different than any mer he’d ever seen. He had an extensive collection of fish mers and selkies, and yet he had never seen a mer like this. She could fly through the water with those wings, if given half a chance. They were delicate, made only of fleshy cartilage with no bone, but strong. Perfect. </p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>He moved on at last to the part that turned his treasure into a weapon- the powerful tail and the sharp stinger at the base of it. The venom of stingray mer was said to be able to kill, and if it did not, then it caused unbearable, incapacitating pain and often a deep puncture wound. Ra’s did not really care which one this mer’s venom proved to be, so long as she could remove any dangers to him. He lifted the tail, finding it to be as long as the rest of the girl’s body, thin and powerful. If she was told to, she could use it as a whip, or she could resort to her stinger. He ran his hands along the length of her tail until he reached that part, admiring it. The child’s stinger was long, perhaps as much as eight inches, and barbed. She had only one spine- some ray mers had two or even three- but the one she had was serrated and sharp as wolf’s teeth, thin like a spearhead, and dangerous as a knife. It was a bayonet, a poison arrow built into her body. He saw a drop of clear venom form on the end of the spine and fall onto the tile, and he smiled. </p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You trained her to my exact instructions?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“To the letter, and then some,” Cain answered. “She’ll do anything you command- and you won’t even have to command it.” At Ra’s’ frown, he hurried on. “She doesn’t understand speech, either human or mer. I trained her to be able to understand body language- even the slightest movement- and she’s learned to predict any move an enemy could make. She knows what you’re going to do before you do it, and she uses it to understand orders. You saw when she jumped out of the tank- all I had to do was come closer to you and look at her, then you, and she knew that I wanted her to jump out of the tank so you could inspect her.” </p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“She is quite a weapon,” Ra’s said, allowing some rare praise past his lips. “She understands no human speech, or her mother’s native tongue?” </p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Not only does she not understand it, but if she did, she could never speak it,” Cain answered. “She won’t betray your secrets, I can tell you that.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Yes, I saw her tongue,” Ra’s answered distractedly. “But that is only a precaution against her learning human speech. The mer language is made up of clicks and grunts that are often not made with the mouth. You cannot physically prevent her from making those sounds, as you did with the human language. I have a large number of mers here- what is to stop her learning their language?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“She’s never been exposed to it, and she’s barely heard human talk,” Cain answered. “Even if she’s figured out that the sounds are a way of communicating, she doesn’t know any words. The only word she’s ever responded to is her name.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Her name?” Ra’s demanded. “She has a name? What is it?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Her mother gave her some outlandish mer name,” Cain answered, “but she also gave her a human one. She’s called Cassandra.” </p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Cassandra. Ra’s let his smile flicker back. “Of course that is the name she would choose,” he said. “Sandra Wu-San, sister of Carolyn Wu-San. Ca-Sandra. The only logical option.” </p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Cain frowned. “How did you know about Carolyn?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“When you told me that you had selected a mother for the child, I looked into her. Killing her own sister? Of course you had something to do with that. You were clearly successful in your end of the deal we made. Do you remember the terms?”</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Of course. You give me one of your fake mer skin things, I use it, I give you the kid, you pay me. It was a simple deal.” </p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“I did not expect you to hold up your end of it,” Ra’s answered. “But here you are, and here is the girl. She is far better than I was expecting.” He let the tension swell before making his final announcement. “She will do.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Before Cain could respond, Ra’s clapped his hands. A servant entered the room, bowing. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“Take Mr. Cain to the treasury,” Ra’s directed. “Pay him his reward...in triplicate.” </p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>Cain gasped, a smile splitting his face. </p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You have done well,” Ra’s told him. Now he knew what he had seen in Cain’s eyes. It was greed, and it had trapped him. Ra’s had the man completely in his power now. </p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>He would use him later, however. For now, he wanted to revel in the new safety the mergirl represented. He had the best bodyguard he could possibly have. He did not fear a natural death, but an enemy’s ambush had always preyed on his mind. </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“No longer,” he muttered as the door thudded closed behind Cain. “Now I fear nothing.” </p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>He opened his mouth to tell the mergirl to get back in her tank, only to see the last of her tail slide gracefully into the water. Not much surprised a man who had lived as long as Ra’s had, but he was shocked by that. Cain had told the truth- the girl needed no commands. </p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You are perfect,” he said, though she could not understand. “You are a creature bred to my design- half human, half mer, not of either world.” </p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>The girl floated in the tank, only a slight fluttering of her wings ruining her perfectly still pose. The wings, attached somewhere between what would be her shoulders and hips if she were human, looked like a dark cape. Her tail was held under her, ready to flick up and over her head like a scorpion, ready to sting, ready to kill. She looked like a warrior. Ra’s smile grew wide, and he rested his hand on the tank the same way Cain had. </p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>“You are neither fish nor girl,” he whispered, gazing into her strange dark eyes. “You are <em>Alwahid Aladhi Hu Klu Shay’</em>, The One Who Is All. All I need you to be.”</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>The mergirl, of course, said nothing.</p>
</div><div>
  <p> </p>
</div><div>
  <p>He didn't need her to.</p>
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